Reply To:
Name - Reply Comment
Sri Lanka’s Fragile MiddleOrder Exposed Again
Sri Lanka’s T20 Asia Cup defence came to a premature ending as the island nation failed to even make the finals this time around. In fact, the team led by Charith Asalanka was beaten in all three games of the ‘Super 4’ stage. Having started off the tournament well, winning all three group stage games, Sri Lanka failed to live up to their expectations in the Super 4s.
Throughout the tournament Sri Lanka’s batting was carried by the two openers, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis. Nissanka became a global star after delivering what was a world-class innings against India in the last game.
Nissanka made 107 runs off 58 balls, smashing six 6s against arguably one of the best bowling attacks in the world. He also ended up being the second-highest run scorer of the tournament, behind Abhishek Sharma. His importance to Sri Lanka’s batting was clearly seen whenever he failed to score the big runs, as the fragile middle order of Sri Lanka had no answer to putting up a big total, especially against Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Mendis and Kusal Janith Perera had a reasonably good tournament but didn’t have the same influence as Nissanka.
However, Sri Lanka’s biggest worry is the captain, Charith Asalanka, who has not been able to deliver any significant innings. Being captain of the Sri Lanka team, his place is guaranteed, but he has only managed 75 runs at 15 during this tournament.
The most worrying sign is that he has played so many dot balls, totally destroying whatever momentum the openers had given.
Dasun Shanaka had a couple of good knocks, while Kamindu Mendis also failed to impress much. Irrespective of their performance, this does look like Sri Lanka’s best option for the middle order, but Sanath Jayasuriya and co. must find a way to get the best out of these players, especially the captain.
Asalanka, on the other hand, made some interesting calls as captain which didn’t really pay off. Leaving Dunith Wellalage to bowl the last over against Afghanistan in the group stage turned out to be a horrible gamble, as Mohammed Nabi smashed the young left-arm spinner for five sixes. Similarly, getting Kamindu to bowl the 16th over against Bangladesh in the first Super 4 game basically lost Sri Lanka the game.
In the game against Pakistan, Asalanka opted to bowl Wanindu Hasaranga’s final over against two well-set left-handers, totally giving them the advantage. As captain, every single decision you make may not turn out to be successful, but things like bowling part-timers in crunch times may not help the cause.
Sri Lanka has only a few months before the World Cup to rectify their errors and find out what their best combination is because, based on the cricket they played in the Asia Cup, one could clearly see that they’ve got no idea what their best combination is.
Comments - 16
Recommended
You May Also Like
Trending
